When I arrived to Cincinnati there was nothing like getting me acclimated with the city other than going to a watch Americas pastime, courtesy of Randie, the director of Soteni, who was accompanied by her family. The Reds were playing the Indians for an interleague series, which is apparently a heated rivalry. Evidently Reds and Indians fans have this pent up anger toward each other, however, nothing to the magnitude of the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry. Although the Reds put up a good fight the Indians prevailed in a marathon of a game.
Orientation began at 9 on Sunday morning. Pat, a fellow intern, Cincinnati resident, and recent graduate of Purdue University will be accompanying me on my excursion to Kenya. Pat and I were each given one blank notebook for writing notes and the other was filled with a plethora of information regarding the logistics of our trip; everything from expectations, goals, Soteni history, Kenyan history, and descriptions of the Soteni villages of Hope. The OVC sponsorship program (Orphans and Vulerable Children), was also thoroughly discussed. The way the program works is either families, groups, or individuals provide $600 for one full year of support. Individual children are secured with uniforms, school fees, health care, food, and psychosocial support throughout the year (anyone interested, ask me about becoming a sponsor, you won’t). There are four villages that Soteni supports and they are Mbakalo, Ugenya, Mituntu, and Kuria. I will be visiting two of the villages, mituntu and mbakalo, where I will be spending roughly a fortnight (very popular Kenyan word) at each. I will certainly go into greater detail later on after I have experienced these areas.
Proceeding orientation I stayed with my host family, the Wulsin’s, whose connection to Soteni begins with Vic, the founder of the organization. However, Vic’s current presence in Kenya left me with Lawson, a very friendly man with flawless hospitality. Later that night Lawson, Stu (Lawson’s son), and I were kindly invited for dinner to a long time family friend’s house, the Dewitt’s. Evidently the Dewitt’s lived in New Haven for a few years many moons ago. I had decided to spark a conversation by saying I lived in New Haven as well and went to school there. Dr. Dewitt said to me, “ohhh you went to Yale.”(keep in mind I was with three doctors and a recent Harvard graduate) I replied while lowering my head in a soft spoken voice, “No. I went to Southern.” Well, this certainly added some comedy to the evening.
The next day Lawson let me use his vehicle to drive into Cincinnati for orientation. I guess I should have paid more attention to the speed limit because a police officer didn’t like the fact that I was driving 70 in a 55. Of course, I was oblivious and assumed the limit was 65 just like most highways. Anyways I was given a ticket for $114, a sweet early birthday present.
Orientation began at 9 on Sunday morning. Pat, a fellow intern, Cincinnati resident, and recent graduate of Purdue University will be accompanying me on my excursion to Kenya. Pat and I were each given one blank notebook for writing notes and the other was filled with a plethora of information regarding the logistics of our trip; everything from expectations, goals, Soteni history, Kenyan history, and descriptions of the Soteni villages of Hope. The OVC sponsorship program (Orphans and Vulerable Children), was also thoroughly discussed. The way the program works is either families, groups, or individuals provide $600 for one full year of support. Individual children are secured with uniforms, school fees, health care, food, and psychosocial support throughout the year (anyone interested, ask me about becoming a sponsor, you won’t). There are four villages that Soteni supports and they are Mbakalo, Ugenya, Mituntu, and Kuria. I will be visiting two of the villages, mituntu and mbakalo, where I will be spending roughly a fortnight (very popular Kenyan word) at each. I will certainly go into greater detail later on after I have experienced these areas.
Proceeding orientation I stayed with my host family, the Wulsin’s, whose connection to Soteni begins with Vic, the founder of the organization. However, Vic’s current presence in Kenya left me with Lawson, a very friendly man with flawless hospitality. Later that night Lawson, Stu (Lawson’s son), and I were kindly invited for dinner to a long time family friend’s house, the Dewitt’s. Evidently the Dewitt’s lived in New Haven for a few years many moons ago. I had decided to spark a conversation by saying I lived in New Haven as well and went to school there. Dr. Dewitt said to me, “ohhh you went to Yale.”(keep in mind I was with three doctors and a recent Harvard graduate) I replied while lowering my head in a soft spoken voice, “No. I went to Southern.” Well, this certainly added some comedy to the evening.
The next day Lawson let me use his vehicle to drive into Cincinnati for orientation. I guess I should have paid more attention to the speed limit because a police officer didn’t like the fact that I was driving 70 in a 55. Of course, I was oblivious and assumed the limit was 65 just like most highways. Anyways I was given a ticket for $114, a sweet early birthday present.
As i said in a early comment i posted....YAY it's letting me comment lol
ReplyDeleteUmmm i just wanted to let you know i found great comedy in this posting!!! "southern"...muhahaha and a speeding ticket!